The invention relates to a cashbox arrangement according to the preamble of claim 1.
A cashbox arrangement of the said type, having a transportable cash-register controlled cashbox is disclosed by EP 0 560 292 B1. The cashbox can be placed onto a stationary base plate and locked to it. Arranged on the base plate is a retaining projection which, when the cashbox is placed on it, reaches through a slot in its base plate and latches with a bolt in the interior of the cashbox. For the purpose of unlocking, an unlocking element which is accessible only when the cashbox lid is open is operated manually. The opening of the lid is triggered by an electrical signal output by a cash register. Since such a cashbox must also be detachable from the base plate in the event of failure of the cash register or of the power supply, a so-called emergency unlocking means, which can be operated manually, is provided at a hidden point on the cashbox which cannot be seen by a customer. The hidden arrangement of this emergency unlocking means is, however, a protection against manipulations on the cashbox, such as unwarranted opening or unauthorized removal from the base plate, only as long as the constructional design of the cashbox arrangement is unknown.
WO 95/21420 A1 discloses an arrangement for the electronic marking of articles. This is used for marking the prices of articles offered for sale in particular in the racks of a department store. It comprises a central station, which transmits article information wirelessly as a radio transmission, and a multiplicity of product labels with a receiver for these radio transmissions. The product label disclosed by WO 95/21420 A1 also contains a transmitter, which is able to transmit information in response to a request signal.
It is an object of the invention to increase the security of cashboxes against unwarranted access.
For a cashbox arrangement of the type described at the beginning, the object is achieved by the characterizing features of claim 1.
The invention is based on the idea that specific preconditions have to be met before a cashbox can be permitted to be released from the base plate. A cashier, when starting work, is given a cashbox which he or she places onto the base plate at his or her cash desk and then, by entering his or her user number via a keyboard, or with the aid of an electronically readable pass, logs into a data processing device controlling the cash register.
Before any permissible removal of the cashbox, the cashier logs off from the data processing device. If, however, the cashbox is detached from the base plate with the cashier logged on, this is an indication of an attempt at manipulation, in response to which an alarm can be triggered. Particularly simple and nevertheless reliable reporting of manipulations on the cashbox is achieved in that in the cashbox there is arranged a sensor, which registers the unlocking and/or the removal of the cashbox from the base plate, and reports an information signal to a monitoring device via a signal path. The arrangement of the sensor within the cashbox makes the blocking of the sensor, performed with fraudulent intent, virtually impossible. Such blocking is in particular ineffective if the switching states and switching changes of the sensor before and as the cashbox is placed onto the base plate, and/or the logging-on and logging-off procedure of the cashier are evaluated in the monitoring device in order to trigger an alarm.
The sensor preferably monitors the position of the cashbox, corresponding to the locked position, with respect to the base plate and/or the position of the retaining projection in its position latched in the cashbox.
The sensor can be designed as an electrical switch, in particular as a microswitch, whose operating element projects into the displacement path of the retaining projection. As an alternative to this, the sensor can be a light barrier registering the position of the retaining projection or a capacitive or inductive proximity switch, which senses its distance from the retaining projection or from the base plate.
The transmission of the information signal is in the simplest case routed via a line carrying an operating signal for unlocking the cashbox lid. This renders additional electrical installations superfluous.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the sensor is connected to a transmitter or transmitter/receiver which is located in the cashbox and whose output signal, as an information signal, is routed via a wireless signal path.
For this purpose, the transmitter or transmitter/receiver can be incorporated into a wireless LAN network, via which the information signal is routed to the monitoring device. Such LAN networks are frequently used in any case, particularly in cash desk installations with many cash registers, in order to connect the cash registers to a central computer. The incorporation of the transmitter or transmitter/receiver therefore does not entail any additional expenditure for the signal transmission. A wireless LAN network is constructed either as an infrared or radio LAN, so that the transmitter or transmitter/receiver in the cashbox must be constructed appropriately.
The transmitter or transmitter/receiver used can also be an electronic product label incorporated into an arrangement for electronic article marking, as disclosed by WO 95/21420 A1. The known product label also contains a transmitter, which is able to transmit information in response to a request signal. Such a product label can be fitted in or on the cashbox with simple means, and the sensor can be connected to its signal input. If the information signal from the sensor is provided as a request signal to the signal input of the product label, then its transmission channel can be used as a wireless signal path.
A product label of the said type is available as a mass-produced item and has its own power supply. The incorporation of the transmitter or transmitter/receiver of a product label fitted in or on the cashbox into the arrangement for electronic article marking therefore does not signify any additional outlay. A further advantage of the use of an electronic product label is that its indicating device, which is present in any case, can be used to indicate information transmitted to the cashier by the monitoring device, for example a warning about a thief who is in the store.